Groups and Courses

What is it?

For people who are experiencing mood disorders a feeling of sadness, low mood and depression can have a significant impact on their lives and their ability to function. Common symptoms include a lack of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, a lack of motivation to do daily activities and withdrawing from interacting with friends and family. They may notice a decrease in energy, lethargy and difficulty sleeping.

What does this programme involve?

The courses are structured courses based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Each course offers 6 sessions, each session is for one hour and thirty minutes each week. They are educational courses and are structured around evidence based interventions, each session has opportunity for discussion and we encourage you to take part in these discussions. The courses involved homework practice and you will be expected to put this into practice in-between sessions, this is an important part of treatment. Our courses are fully confidential.

How will this help me?

During this course you will:

• Learn the common cycles that maintain your problem

• Learn and put into practice strategies to manage your symptoms including managing your thoughts and changing unhelpful behaviours

• You will learn how to take back control of managing your low mood as well as your general well-being

Who runs the sessions?

The course will be facilitated by two Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners who are fully trained in delivering guided self-help treatment based on CBT techniques.

What is it?

For people who are suffering from an anxiety disorder the feelings of panic, worry and stress can have a significant impact on their lives and can be difficult to manage. Common symptoms include physical symptoms of such as heart palpitations, sweating, nausea, breathless and an inability to relax. They may also have difficulties sleeping and concentrating and experience irritability or low mood.

What does this programme involve?

The courses are structured courses based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Each course offers 6 sessions; each session is for one hour and thirty minutes each week. They are educational courses and are structured around evidence based interventions, each session has opportunity for discussion and we encourage you to take part in these discussions. The courses involved homework practice and you will be expected to put this into practice in-between sessions, this is an important part of treatment. Our courses are fully confidential.

How will this help me?

During this course you will:

• Learn the common cycles that maintain your stress and anxiety.
• Learn and put into practice strategies to manage your symptoms including managing your thoughts and changing unhelpful behaviours.
• You will learn how to take back control of managing your stress and anxiety as well as your general well-being.

Who runs the sessions?

The course will be facilitated by two Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners who are fully trained in delivering guided self-help treatment based on CBT techniques.

Please note: There are 6 sessions within each course, ALL courses and groups will be run online via video conferencing until further notice. If course spaces are not filled they may have to be cancelled.

What is it?

The Calming Anxiety and Boosting Mood (CABM) course is an educational course run by within a group setting.  The course will help you to learn skills and techniques to help understand and overcome low mood, anxiety and panic.

What does the programme involve?

The course consists of six weekly sessions lasting two hours. The sessions do involve some group discussions, however, it is up to you how much or little you wish to share. You will be expected to practice your learning between sessions as part of the CBT approach in order to get the full benefit of the course.

How will this help me?

The course will help you to improve your understanding of low mood and/or anxiety and learn skills and techniques to help manage these. 

Who runs the sessions?

Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) will work alongside you to use a proven approach called ‘Guided Self-Help’.

Please note: There are 6 sessions within each course, ALL courses and groups will be run online via video conferencing until further notice. If course spaces are not filled they may have to be cancelled.

What is it? 

• Acceptance of unwanted thoughts, emotions, physical sensations 

• Commitment to embark on new behaviours

The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) group is a powerful psychotherapy based on cutting-edge research into how the human mind works. It has been clinically proven to be successful in a wide range of psychological problems. The unusual name of this therapy comes from one of its key themes: Learn how to accept those things that are out of your control and commit to changing those things that can be changed to make your life better. 

What does the programme involve?

The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) group runs for 10 weeks, two hour sessions per week. It is a very active therapy, in which you will learn new skills to improve your quality of life. 

We have two basic aims in this therapy which are:

• To help you create a rich, full and meaningful life.
• To teach you a set of skills that will allow you to handle painful thoughts and feelings far more effectively, in such a way that they have much less impact and influence over you. We call these skills ‘mindfulness skill’.

How will this help me? 

ACT may be helpful to you if you are ready to:

• learn skills in managing difficult thoughts and feelings
• address ‘stuck cycles’ of anxiety and depression behaviour 
• set behavioural goals in line with how you want life to be
• take a fresh look at who or what is important in your life

 Who runs the sessions?

A Cognitive Behavioural Therapist will work alongside you. For more information about Cognitive Behavioural Therapists click here.

Please note: There are 10 sessions within each course, ALL courses and groups will be run online via video conferencing until further notice. If course spaces are not filled they may have to be cancelled.

What is it? 

Mindfulness for depression is a group programme that combines meditation and cognitive behaviour therapy in order to help people manage problems with recurrent depression and stress.

Mindfulness for depression will help you if you:

• have experienced two or more episodes of low mood/ depression in the past. 
• are motivated and able to commit to attending the group for two hours a week.
• are willing to undertaking 30 to 40 minutes of daily mindfulness practice.

What does the programme involve?

Mindfulness for depression is an eight week group treatment, each session lasting two hours and they are delivered weekly. Mindfulness requires some degree of concentration and an ability to sit with unpleasant or distressing experiences without using unhelpful coping strategies such as drinking or self-harming. A realistic intention to undertake daily mindfulness practice is necessary to join the group.

How will this help me? 

Mindfulness for depression attempts to provide the necessary tools to combat depressive symptoms as they arise. When these skills have been learned, then you may be able to revert to these methods in times of distress or when faced with potentially overwhelming situations. 

Who runs the sessions?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapists will help you to understand and recognise unhelpful thoughts and behaviours which negatively impact on your mood and emotions. 

Please note: There are 9 sessions within each course, ALL courses and groups will be run online via video conferencing until further notice. If course spaces are not filled they may have to be cancelled. 

What is it? 

Do you:

• Worry a lot about different things in daily life?
• Believe worry helps you plan or do things better, or it is a sign you care?
• Have a lot of different ‘What if thoughts …?’ about the future?
• Believe you were born a ‘worrier’?
• Experience muscle tension – especially in your neck and shoulders?
• Have trouble sleeping?
• Feel restless, on edge, irritable, tired or exhausted easily?

 It may be that you are experiencing Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) or excessive worry. The recommended psychological treatment for GAD is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT in a group setting is beneficial because you will have the chance to meet other people with similar difficulties whilst learning how to better deal with the experiences listed above.

What does the programme involve?

The overcoming worry group involves CBT in a group setting. There are nine sessions, each session last two hours every week. You are required to engage with the group and share your experiences in order to gain the full benefit of the treatment. Everything discussed in the group is treated with strict confidentiality, this is agreed as a group and you would be expected to adhere to this agreement. There is an expectation that you will implement and practice the coping strategies between group session.

How will this help me? 

The Overcoming Worry group will help you to:

• Improve your understanding of anxiety and worry.
• Learn new skills and techniques to manage your worry.
• Recognise what is a current worry and what is a hypothetical worry.
• Set goals in line with how you want life to be.
• Make changes to feel better.

Who runs the sessions?

A Cognitive Behavioural Therapist will work alongside you to use a proven approach called ‘Guided Self-Help’. 

Please note: There are 9 sessions within each course, ALL courses and groups will be run online via video conferencing until further notice. If course spaces are not filled they may have to be cancelled. 

What is it? 

The Improving Self-Esteem Counselling group consists of 9 sessions. Each session lasts for two hours. This group will help you to identify the ways in which low self-esteem might contribute to your depression and help you to make changes to improve your self-esteem and confidence.

Who might benefit from the Improving Self-Esteem Group:

• Patients presenting with  mild to moderate depression or low mood
• Those who are self-critical and identify with having low self-esteem and would like to understand more about the origins of that
• Those who express an interest in learning more about their low self- esteem and are motivated to make changes in their life and the way they think about themselves;
• Patients who are open to discussion in a group setting and who can both contribute and listen.

A “Group Contract” will be discussed during the first session

The group is not suitable for you if you:

• Use drugs, alcohol or self-harm to cope
• Have a history of trauma likely to be triggered during group exercises
• Are highly socially anxious
• Believe your difficulties are due to external factors alone
• Have a specific problem, like OCD, health anxiety, bipolar
• Have a large degree of instability in your life

Who runs the sessions and what can I expect?

The group is run by two Counsellors from Healthy Minds.  They are trained to work with the group and listen and encourage you to begin to understand the difficult thoughts, emotions and impact of low self-esteem.

Each week there will be a presentation on different topics that impacts on self-esteem. There will then be time for the group to discuss and explore the presentation further and reflect on the impact that it has on them individually based on their own life experiences.

It can be daunting at first to join a therapeutic group but we would like to encourage and welcome you. Sharing your experience with others in a safe and professional led environment can be beneficial. A group can be a unique place where you can feel supported and understood whilst reflecting on yourself and your situation

Please note: There are 9 sessions within each course, All participants are asked to attend all sessions whenever possible.  ALL courses and groups will be run online via video conferencing until further notice. If course spaces are not filled they may have to be cancelled. 

What is it?

This is a course aimed at people living with Diabetes (Type 1, Type 2, pre-diabetes and Diabetes recently in remission) and feeling stressed or anxious.  We understand the huge impact that living with Diabetes can have on all areas of life including the effect on our emotional wellbeing.  We also know that keeping our stress and anxiety levels as low as possible, can make a huge difference to managing our physical health. 

Are you living with Diabetes and been:
- feeling worried? 
- thinking about things that might go wrong?
- thinking more about worst case scenarios?
- feeling stressed, nervous or on edge?
- noticing tension around your neck and shoulders or other parts of your body?
- feeling anxious or panicky?
- finding it difficult to relax?
- feeling irritated by small things that perhaps wouldn’t normally bother you?

If you have been experiencing any of these, this course may help.

What does this programme involve?

This is a virtual course that is structured and based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. It is educational in nature, with opportunities for discussion.

Each course is 5 sessions long, for two hours weekly on Wednesdays  1 – 3pm.

How will this help me?

You will learn to understand experiences from a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy viewpoint, explore the impact of living with Diabetes (and other long term health conditions) and discuss common features.  You will learn about calming anxiety, panic and stress, and the vicious cycles that keep us anxious.  You will explore the nature of worry and uncertainty, learn techniques to reduce worry and feel more comfortable with uncertainty.  You will explore negative thoughts and different emotions, and the effect they might have on the things that we do.  The course also spends some time exploring improving sleep and relaxation.

Who runs the sessions?

The courses are run remotely by our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners and we welcome patients with GPs across both Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners are fully trained in delivering guided self-help treatment based on CBT techniques and work closely with the Worcestershire Diabetes Team.

ALL courses and groups will be run online via video conferencing until further notice. If course spaces are not filled they may have to be cancelled.

What is it?

This is a course aimed at people living with Diabetes* and feeling low in mood or depressed.  We understand the huge impact that living with Diabetes can have on all areas of life including the effect on mood and emotional wellbeing.  We also know that keeping our mood as good as it can be, can make a huge difference to managing our physical health. 

Are you living with Diabetes and been:
- feeling low, down or fed up?
- thinking negatively about things?
- struggling with fatigue or sleep?
- feeling your motivation to do stuff is low?
- finding it difficult to concentrate?
- Perhaps you’ve been beating yourself up about things?

If you have been experiencing any of these, this course may help.

What does this programme involve?

This is a virtual course that is structured and based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. It is educational in nature, with opportunities for discussion.

Each course is 5 sessions long, for two hours on Wednesdays  1 – 3pm.

How will this help me?

You will learn to understand experiences from a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy viewpoint, explore the impact of living Diabetes (and other long term health conditions) and discuss common features.  You will learn about managing low mood and the vicious cycle of depression, in addition to the boom-and-bust cycles.  You will learn about breaking vicious cycles with behavioural activation and to spot negative thoughts and how to challenge them.  You will also learn more about different emotions and how emotions can affect what we do or don’t do.  We will also spend some time exploring communication styles, improving sleep and relaxation exercises.

Who runs the sessions?

The courses are run remotely by our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners and we welcome patients with GPs across both Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners are fully trained in delivering guided self-help treatment based on CBT techniques and work closely with the Worcestershire Diabetes Team.

ALL courses and groups will be run online via video conferencing until further notice. If course spaces are not filled they may have to be cancelled.

* Type 1, Type 2, pre-diabetes and diabetes recently in remission

What is it?

This is a course aimed at people living with Long Covid and Post Covid* and feeling low in mood or depressed.  We understand the huge impact that living with Post Covid and Long Covid can have on all areas of life including the effect on mood.  We also know that keeping our mood as good as it can be, can make a huge difference to managing physical symptoms and to recovery. 

Are you living with Post Covid Syndrome or Long Covid symptoms and been:
- feeling low, down or fed up?
- thinking negatively about things?
- struggling with fatigue or sleep?
- feeling your motivation to do stuff is low?
- finding it difficult to concentrate?
- perhaps you’ve been beating yourself up about things?

If you have been experiencing any of these, this course may help.

What does this programme involve?

This is a virtual course that is structured and based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. They are educational in nature, with opportunities for discussion.

Each course is 6 sessions long, for one hour and thirty minutes weekly on Wednesdays  1 – 2.30pm.

How will this help me?

You will learn to understand experiences from a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy viewpoint, explore the impact of living with post covid / long covid (and other long term health conditions) and discuss common features.  You will learn about managing low mood and the vicious cycle of depression in addition to the deconditioning and the boom and bust cycles.  We will explore barriers to motivation including breathlessness, brain fog and fatigue.  You will learn about breaking vicious cycles with behavioural activation and pacing for post covid.  You will be spotting unhelpful thoughts and challenging them.  You will also learn more about emotions, communication, sleep and relaxation.

Who runs the sessions?

The courses are run remotely by our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners and we welcome patients with GPs across both Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners are fully trained in delivering guided self-help treatment based on CBT techniques and work closely with the Worcestershire Post Covid Team.

ALL courses and groups will be run online via video conferencing until further notice. If course spaces are not filled they may have to be cancelled.

*We do not require you have received a formal diagnosis of Post Covid Syndrome

What is it?

This is a course aimed at people living with Long Covid and Post Covid* and feeling low in mood or depressed.  We understand the huge impact that living with Post Covid and Long Covid can have on all areas of life including the effect on mood.  We also know that keeping our mood as good as it can be, can make a huge difference to managing physical symptoms and to recovery. 

Are you living with Post Covid Syndrome or Long Covid symptoms and been:
- feeling low, down or fed up?
- thinking negatively about things?
- struggling with fatigue or sleep?
- feeling your motivation to do stuff is low?
- finding it difficult to concentrate?
- perhaps you’ve been beating yourself up about things?

If you have been experiencing any of these, this course may help.

What does this programme involve?

This is a virtual course that is structured and based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. They are educational in nature, with opportunities for discussion.

Each course is 6 sessions long, for one hour and thirty minutes weekly on Wednesdays  1 – 2.30pm.

How will this help me?

You will learn to understand experiences from a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy viewpoint, explore the impact of living with post covid / long covid (and other long term health conditions) and discuss common features.  You will learn about managing low mood and the vicious cycle of depression in addition to the deconditioning and the boom and bust cycles.  We will explore barriers to motivation including breathlessness, brain fog and fatigue.  You will learn about breaking vicious cycles with behavioural activation and pacing for post covid.  You will be spotting unhelpful thoughts and challenging them.  You will also learn more about emotions, communication, sleep and relaxation.

Who runs the sessions?

The courses are run remotely by our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners and we welcome patients with GPs across both Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners are fully trained in delivering guided self-help treatment based on CBT techniques and work closely with the Worcestershire Post Covid Team.

ALL courses and groups will be run online via video conferencing until further notice. If course spaces are not filled they may have to be cancelled.

*We do not require you have received a formal diagnosis of Post Covid Syndrome